I ran into this problem on my Windows 2000 system with SQL Server 2000
installed when I was using the Data Link Properties box to setup a
connection string. It would happen when I tried to view or refresh the
list of servers present.
I re-installed SQL Server 2000 and upgraded to MDAC 2.8, neither of
which helped. After searching some more, I finally found the following
article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/232060/
One of the instructions was to disable anti-virus and disk security
software which I had not thought to do. I'm running Norton Firewall
which I've found in the past does tend to interfere with things if it
hasn't recognized a program yet so I disabled it and was finally able
to view the list. When I re-enabled the firewall, it recognized the
necessary components and everything works great now.
I thought I'd post this for reference since I notice that many other
people have run into the same problem.
Andrew Comeau
http://www.drewslair.com 
